Disney World- Military style

I grew up going to Walt Disney World. Some of my best memories are the yearly trips my mom and I would take while Daddy was on business trips to Orlando for a long weekend. We'd stay at a Disney hotel and hit the parks from opening until we were too pooped to carry on- usually just after the fireworks! I still remember my first time on Space Mountain at 3 years old and finding someone with Tylenol after I hit my head because I didn't stay seated at the end of the ride. I remember the fun of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and the disappointment when they closed it, the endless rides spinning ourselves as fast as we could on the Teacups, and watching as they built both Big Thunder Railroad and Splash Mountain. We stayed at various different hotels- the Polynesian, Port Orleans before there was a Riverside addition, and many times at the All Star Resorts after they were opened.

I never understood at the time the costs that went into all these memories, but I know now that it was there. And, despite costs, I want these same memories for my boys. So, every couple years we save and do what we can to get to Disney World. (Though, our last trip we headed out to Disneyland in California instead!) This is made much easier as they have great discounts for military. We aren't just a couple hours drive away, and we have three kids, so the travel is much more costly. So, when we decide its time to visit Disney, we do so in the cheapest way possible. Since we have family in Florida, and usually go down for Christmas every few years anyway, we usually time our trips to Disney around the holidays. This year, we are going down in June- the 'busy' season. And we'll be doing Disney, Universal, and Sea World for under $5,000, including gas and hotels during the 3 day each way drive. So, here is our breakdown staying in a Disney Moderate Resort:

Port Orleans French quarter + dining 7 days (2adults/2kids):                                        $2141

-          $306 PER DAY. Hotel, 4 snacks, 4 quick service meals, 4 sit down meals per day.

Disney Tickets: $169 each adult/ children >2. 4-day park hopper.                               $676

Sea World Tickets: Free military.                                                                                         $0

Universal Tickets: Will free, Adult 1-day $96, Child 3-6 $90.                                         $264

Space & Rocket Center: Will free, Adult $20, Child <5 Free                                           $20

Gas (Mapquest estimate):                                                                                                    $500

Hotels ($100/night, 2 nights each way):                                                                            $400

Total:                                                                                                                                        $4,001

·        Does not include food while travelling, in Clearwater, or Panama City.

·        Does not include dog boarding. (2 chocolate labs)

You will see recommendations for and against staying on Disney property and for and against the dining plans. For us, with small children, the resorts make life easier as we can hop the bus to and from the hotel and parks, as often as needed. Also, the monorail is free, and makes a lovely, air conditioned afternoon nap spot for little boys who are too excited in the parks to settle down for a nap in their stroller! (The older boys love riding it and can sit for an hour if we let them. We use it to get the little ones (s) to sleep and then get back off and go back into the park.)

The Dining plan is a must for us since at 5, 3, and 1 years old, our boys are not interested in standing in hour long lines to meet the characters. Instead we use our sit-down meals for character meals. We do Chef Mickey to meet the classic characters, the Disney Jr breakfast at Hollywood Studios to meet their favorite TV characters (this changes now and then to update to the most popular charaters), and this year because we'll have extra days where we won't be at Disney parks, we are using two days of sit-down meals to do the Luau at the Polynesian! Thankfully, we don't have little girls as Cinderella's Table, which I'm told is amazing, is 2 sit-down meals as well as the cookout show at the Wilderness Lodge! Why is this worth spending the extra money? Because our hotel, tickets, and dining plan equal out to $402 a day. Just the total for us all to do the Luau will cost around that if we had to pay for it separately! The character meals will add up to around $100 each without the dining plan. Are you seeing why its worth it!?!


Now for the breakdown without the military discounts. These are all taken off the parks website.

 

Disney, hotel, tickets, and dining online before taxes: $4212

Sea world tickets: $318 (2 adults, 2 kids, 1 under 3 free)

Universal:$ 372 (2 adults, 2 kids, 1 under 3 free) 1 day, 1 park

Space & Rocket Center: $40

Gas: $500

Hotels: $400

$5842  Non-military price  

 

That's a difference of $1841!!

 

Now, I tried to match it as close as possible to what we'll be getting. I was able to adjust the Disney side to perfectly match what we are getting. For Universal, we will only be doing one day at Islands of Adventure, even though Will will be getting Universal's Military ticket, which is, I think, a park hopper or 2-day, but as we'll only be going to the one park for one day, I chose that option for the general price. (So, its the price of what we'll be doing.)

Also, you'll notice mention of Clearwater and Panama City. We have family in those two cities, so we'll be spending a couple nights with family in both places as we make our way home. We'll also be stopping in Huntsville, AL to spend a couple hours at the Space & Rocket Center as my boys are space crazy.

Our drive to and from Florida will be about 3 days each way. We drive about 8 hours a day so we are able to stop for an hour at lunch and let the boys run around, and then are done each night at dinner time, allowing for more run around or pool time after eating. To minimize hotel cost, we usually stay at Best Westerns or Holiday Inn Expresses as they both offer military rates and have free continental breakfasts and internet! I average around $100 per night for hotels as it does change based on the location, but we've yet to spend more than $120 after taxes for a night at either chain.

If you are looking for more money saving tips for a trip to Disney, I highly suggest checking out Couponing to Disney. Not only does she have tons of great money saving tips for going to Orlando and California, but she has lots of good ideas and deals to help you save money everyday! And Behind the Mouse just recently put up a post full of free things to do while at Disney World. And did you know Disney World has two mini golf courses!? These are another fun and cheap way to spend some time outside the actual parks!

 

Other options to look into for the Orlando area is to stay at Shades of Green, which is a military resort on Disney property. The room rates are based on rank, and the rooms look to be well sized. They are not a Disney resort and therefore, you cannot get the Disney Dining Plan through them (which was our deal breaker). If you are looking at not doing the dining plan, this is definitely an option to look into. There is a way to save even more by getting a vacation rental through Armed Forces Vacation Club, which allows you to rent a suite at local resorts for a week for only a couple hundred dollars total. These often come with a kitchen, which allows you to cook your meals. As our kids get older, this is an option we'll be exploring more I think! I have not used them, but have a close friend who had an amazing experience through them. (also note, AFVC has rentals throughout the world- check them out for any vacation!!)

Maybe next month, as we get closer to vacation, I'll share my packing list, and some basic survival tips to get through a long car ride and Disney with little kiddos. Here's a preview- stroller etiquette is important! We take a double jogger with us that we have fondly named "The Cadillac." We take it on buses, on the monorail, and around the parks without any issues. Be respectful of others, you can run them over easier than you think! For buses, have the kids out and get that sucker folded while waiting in line, and don't let go of it while on the bus, it can and will fall over and hurt people while the buses are moving. And the double joggers go nicely onto the monorail to get those kiddos to sleep, just make sure you're getting into an empty, or almost empty space.

It's already October!?!

Where in the world has time gone? This summer has been so busy with the house that it has truly flown by. So much updating to do, where to begin?

Well, I left off with the Great Basement Flood of 2013, so I'll start there. The basement is back together and better than ever. We ended up having to replace the padding but the carpet was good to go! We got everything moved back into the house and put back together again. Nothing like getting our money's worth out of our Homeowners insurance right away!!

We've even gotten the office painted and we're most the way done painting the guest room. We have a friend moving in with us next month for a couple months so it needed to be finished. Last week we called in a plumber to get an estimate on getting the basement bathroom finished. Yeah, so I though the plumbing was roughed in completely and we literally just had to 'finish' the bathroom. I was wrong. The drainage is there, but the plumbing into the bathroom is not. Our budget for this project just doubled!! Ouch. Needless to say that won't be happening this year! 

Keirnan started Pre-k this school year and is loving it. He goes on post for 3 hours every day during the week. I've had a hard time figuring out what to do with the younger boys and myself since it's not worth it in time or gas to drive home while Keirnan's at school. 

We also started Awana on Wednesday nights at church. We all love it. Keirnan is a cubbie and has a new verse to learn each week. James is a puggle and learns  something new each week also, thus far it's been "God made the..." They do a craft with it. The boys' space themed room now has the added decor of a rainbow, sun, and moon!

This last week Keirnan started his first real 'sport,' karate! He's doing ATA twice a week and so far loves it. Tonight is his first night since getting his uniform. There will be pictures!

We also finally got an allergy test done for Owen and found he's allergic to bananas and eggs. Since I am still nursing this means we are both having to stay away from all things containing these foods. I didn't realize how much I love eggs until I can't have them. Ok, not true- I've always known I love eggs!! And Owen loves bananas. I have been busy finding alternate recipes for foods that are 'Owen friendly.' This has been particularly hard as the number one replacement for eggs in cooking is... you guessed it- bananas! So, I found a lovely blog with the recipe for pancakes using the mix we already have but substituting the eggs with applesauce. Will made them a few days ago and they were lovely. This was a happy experiment as I didn't want to waste the mix we had or spend the extra time in the kitchen making 2 batches of everything. Its an experience for sure figuring all this out!

Speaking of Owen, he is now 10 months old and wearing 18 month clothes. The kid is huge! He doesn't even have cute little baby rolls. He's just as tall as he is wide, so he just looks older than he really is. He has started pulling up to standing this week and I even found him up a step this afternoon. Way to go Daddy for teaching him that!

Not to leave James out, my little force of nature is going to be turning 3 next month and is having a cowboy birthday party at a local farm. We're going all out this year since last year was a bit of a bust since I was about to pop with Owen! He is currently obsessed with all things cowboy and loves John Wayne. I have watched at least one John Wayne film everyday this month I think. Can you guess what he's going to be for Halloween!?!

So, that leaves Will and I. We are doing good. We've been working on cutting down our spending this month, which was proving hard until Owen and I got our No-egg orders. Now, with all the yummy goodness BK offers each morning out of the picture, its becoming easier!

Will did the Tough Mudder in Topeka last month and I'm so proud of him. He did great and the boys still talk about it and how they can't wait to do it too. Will has told me I'll be doing it with him in May after volun-telling him to do it this time. I am also apparently doing the Dirty Girl race in June and the Disney Wine and Dine next November. Its going to be a busy year for me so I am starting training now. I know I'll need all the help I can get!

So, that's about it. As I always say, I'm going to try getting on here more often, but we'll see how that goes. I at least downloaded the Blogger app on my phone so maybe I'll get to it for real!

We bought a house... And a swimming pool!?

After hearing that Will would not be leaving Ft. Riley anytime in the near future we decided to start looking at buying a house in the local community that we'd come to fall in love with, Chapman. It's a true one stoplight town and has a pretty good school system, so we started looking. We set our budget, and decided that if it was meant to be, it would happen.

 Well, we found a couple places we liked and one we loved. Unfortunately, the one we loved was about $10k over the budget we'd set for ourselves. The morning after looking at the places we liked I jumped online and found the place we loved had dropped in price by a lot! It was now not only in our budget, but was the cheapest! We put in our offer.

Don't worry, we asked the same question you're asking- what's wrong with the house!? It was a short sale going into foreclosure! We decided to go ahead anyway. We had awesome realtors and really, how hard can it be, we sold our house in WA as a short sale (thank you economy and army!) and the process wasn't that bad. 

Skipping all the boring details, dealing with a selling bank wasn't too bad, even if it was Chase. I think our expecting the worst out of them helped! Lol the troubles all came from the VA and our bank. I'll skip all the messy details, if you're on my Facebook you already know them anyway! I learned a lot from this, we will never again use a large bank for our mortgage. More often than not, you can get a better rate and more personal attention from a small local bank. Proof is when USAA got really bad at one point, we went to the local bank and their mortgage processor sat down with me, went through everything we'd done so far, and than told me to stay with our bank at that point! She didn't have to do any of that, but she did and it thought me a valuable lesson. 

So, after 2 months and a LOT of hassle, we finally got our house at the end of June! As I mentioned, we asked what was wrong with it for such a price drop. Well... The previous owner was a moron is the biggest issue we've had. Lol Literally, at least once a week I find myself asking what was that man thinking!?! 

So, we've gotten all settled and just as I'm thinking we're ready to start tackling the first big project, finishing the downstairs basement, the rains start and the power goes out. Just that quickly we realize we need to hold off just a bit more and get a backup on the sump pump. Ok, no problem. That will be a quick fix next weekend. Only problem is very early Friday morning the power goes out while we're in the middle of a bad storm! (Flash flood warning in effect for our area!) yeah, if you know anything about sump pumps, you know where this is going. Yeah... 200 Gallons of water later and we no longer have a basement, it's an indoor splash pad!!

Owen's finally sleeping through the nights  most nights. Thankfully, that night he woke up and Will was just coming back to bed when the power went out. We watched the sump well overflow in a matter of minutes. The pit was working properly it seemed and the overflow was going down a drain into the sewer system. Yes, we're going to be ok. 

Nope,  it was too much and the pipes out of our house couldn't keep up I guess. Backed up and water came out everywhere! It wasn't pretty, but at least we were awake at 3am and were able to start moving everything into the garage. We saved everything!!! Ok, a couple boxes of books got damp but no personal property is being filed on our claim! 

It's been a week since the great basement flood. We've found an amazing carpet guy, and gotten the carpets dried out. As it stands now, we managed to save all of the carpet and maybe even a good bit of the padding. BTW, we put the carpet and padding in when we bought the house! Barely a month old! Will also got the battery backup on the sump pump so we don't have to worry about the power going out again. And we have someone coming to finish the carpet Monday. Yay, we can get back to living elsewhere than in my bedroom! I've also got a guy coming to fix the drainage for good as soon as the rain dries out enough for him!!

So, this has been trying experience after trying experience, but I've learned so much and we truly love our new house! 

Allergy induced Eczema solved!

We think we have finally figured out Owen's eczema and what's causing his flare ups- his stuffed animals!

Even after seeing the dermatologist a couple months ago, Owen was still having really bad flare ups if his eczema. I felt horrible because we were doing everything the doctor told us to do, and that's a pretty big list!

   - he's to only wear cotton

   - keep him inside on high pollen days

   - don't use detergents, soaps, or lotions with dyes or fragrances.

   - don't use dryer sheets of any kind

   - only use cetaphil to wash him with and don't use a wash cloth

   - apply eucerine 4+ times a day

   - use a mild steroid when he starts to get red and on his face

   - use a slightly more potent steroid on his body for bad flare ups

   - lukewarm baths every night and pat dry (as opposed to rubbing him with the towel!)

   - and Zyrtec every night

Oh, let me mention that the detergents one is for our entire house, not just Owen!!

As you can imagine, this has taken a lot of work the past couple months, but whatever it takes! The worst was knowing it was allergy induced but not being able to figure out what the allergy was to! (I prayed it wasn't the dogs as getting rid of them would have torn the other boys apart!)

Almost immediately I figured out that just the couple hours in the church nursery at nap time would set him off, but I attributed it to the detergent used. We also figured out a couple other things as we practiced this new 'way of life.'

But, we still couldn't figure out what the trigger was- until last week! My amazing husband finally figured out the clue that gave it away. Owen was only breaking out/ getting his rash on the visible parts of his body. That takes out food allergies, the dogs, and his washing and laundry. 

With such a reduced list, it became easy to run through those things that he does not wear, but comes into contact, with on  a regular basis!

Will then had a second break through, it's worse after he's been playing with his black Build-A-Bear teddy that we made him. After looking at what teddy is made of, we decided to take away all items that are not cotton or organically produced. 

We'll, you know where this is going- it worked! Owen has been mostly polyester free for a week now and he looks amazing!! (He still has one cheek that's bad, but that's the one he wipes/ scratches when he's tired and/or upset and hasn't given it time to heal!) 

In figuring this all out we've had to weed out every plush toy we have, all his blankets except recieving blankets, and a lot of his clothes. (Especially his pjs!) Polyester is in a LOT of stuff!! So now, we've got to find a new lovey and blankets that are 100% cotton and don't cost an arm and a leg!

Not only is all that not cotton, but carpets aren't cotton, and neither is Owen's carseat!! I know that once we get unpacked I'll be making an overly large blanket/rug to go on the floor wherever we go and contacting his carseat company to see if they make, or can make, a slipcover type piece for his carseat padding that doesn't make his entire carseat 'unsafe' and void the warranty! Wish us luck on this new journey, I think we're really going to need it!

During a recent flare up.

 And yesterday, almost a week without polyester!

TurboFire, Part 2

Like everything else, I forgot to post my after pictures and thoughts. We'll, here they are!

TurboFire was amazing! I hated Chaleane and I don't love it as much as I do Rockin' Body and SeanT. But it was fun most the time and I accomplished my goals!

I ended up getting a scale finally, though I've chosen to hide it in the closet from both myself and the boys. This way I'm not inclined to step on every single day and become obsessed with my weight! It works for me and I only got on once a week. 

Well, as I said I accomplished my goal to get back to pre pregnancy weight and am back in my before Owen clothes! Now my only problem is I can't wear most of them because I'm nursing him and they aren't easily accessible! Lol

Well, I am getting ready to start my second round of TurboFire on the 24th and my goal this time is to tone up all the jiggly spots. (Tummy, love handles, underarms, and thighs.) 

Oh and my other goal was to start running again and do a few 5ks. Well, I did them! Lol. I did a 5k mud run that kicked my butt but was awesome, then a  2 mile Superhero run and a 2 mile Run for the Fallen. All three were in a one week period and it took awhile to recover. 

Now I need to keep up the running. When my friend gets home from her upcoming deployment next year we'll be going to Florida for the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon in the Fall! 

So, new workout goals:

1. Tone up my midsection.

2. Start running to prepare for half in Nov. 2014!

Keirnan's 4th Birthday!!

Wow, I could have sworn I had done this. Oops! Well, better late than never, so here it is...

My little soldier finally had his "Bad Guy Birthday Party." His Army party was what I would consider a success. Keirnan had picked out months ago the theme for his party, and I had nothing more to do than make it happen. Ha, easier said than done!

First I started gathering all the cool basic party supplies from Walmart for the grand 'ol price of a dollar a package! Go me! Then it was time to figure out games and cake.

For the cake I decided to make camo cupcakes which I found on... you guessed it- Pinterest! They were surprisingly easy and a big hit! The recipe called for camo icing too, but seeing as the cupcakes were already so cute and it was a party of under 4 kids mostly, I decided to forego the icing.

For Christmas last year my parents got Will some grenade and Army symbol mold trays from a gun show that we finally used to make chocolates with. They fit so perfectly and we ended up putting them on the cupcakes!

Tell me those aren't awesome!! 

For games we had a tank piñata and made an obstacle course. The course went through the swing set and sandbox, then across some tires we borrowed from a local auto shop and ended at the camo covered dog box where the kids had to fire the nerd gun at a target on the fence. All the kids had a great time and we just recently were allowed to take the obstacle course down!

Swing across the rope. Climb up the rope ladder and slide down into the sandbox on your belly. Low crawl out of the netting and then run through the tires. Go through the 'wire' and shoot the target.

As Keirnan's birthday is in May, we never know what the weather will be like here, but it was fabulous. (Thank God since we had no room for everyone inside!)

Anyway, that's the highlights of the birthday boys fabulous party! Next up is James' birthday in November. He's already decided it'll be a "cowboy birthday party!"

Becos and Baskets

AKA- My 'crunchy' mom side!

In January I decided to invest in a Beco Baby Carrier. Oh what a wonderful thing it is too!! I had been a great fan of the Moby wrap ever since a friend let me borrow hers when Keirnan was a baby, but I had never been fond of it for the boys when they got bigger. So, I finally found a carrier that is easy to use and comfy for both me and baby! Owen loves the Beco as much as I do!

So, after a bit of research and hearing great praises from a couple friends I decided on the Gemini. I even got black so Will would consider wearing Owen also. I still haven't gotten him to yet, though we'll say its do to lack of opportunity! This was the best investment into baby wearing I've ever made, totally worth the money!
I love how easy it is to throw on and adjust. Though I'm a bit small so if I don't have the around the waist part tight enough, that is a bit difficult to pull tighter. I also like that I can cross the straps over my back and its a front and back carrier as well as having the ability to shorten the area between baby's legs/ under his butt for while he is still smaller! So, there is my plug for my Beco.

The other thing I started doing the past month or two is Bountiful Basket. Its a food co-op that is nationwide and a friend in Colorado has been telling me about it for a year now. Well, I finally remembered at the right time of the month and got in on it. $15 gets me a basket of about 50% fruits and 50% veggies. I don't get to pick what comes in my basket, so its like Christmas with food every 2 weeks! Its really opened up my eyes and is forcing me out of my food comfort zone. (Considering I don't really eat veggies, this is major!!)

This last week's basket had a bunch of bananas, apples and clementines, (no problem getting rid of those in this house) as well as a pack of mushrooms, a pineapple, a few avocados and a huge amount of peppers. So, tonight once Will gets home I'll be making some guacamole and some jalapeno hot sauce! Oh, there was a bunch of spinach in there also. I added some into our salads the other night and made my first 'green' smoothie yesterday. All a success, and the boys and I downed that smoothie so fast!

Finally, a friend made her baby homemade baby food and it sounded so easy. I figured I'd try it also. It was very easy, but Owen wasn't impressed. I don't have the right stuff to store it all so, a lot ended up going to waste. Thank goodness it was cheap and I had a coupon! (But then, that was part of why I picked those foods for a first try!) So, before I attempt it again, I need to get some containers to store/freeze it all and wait until Owen is eating more that a tablespoon or two at a time! In the meantime, I had a coupon from Gerber, so that will do for now! Hey, nobody is perfect!!